Chief Justice: Violent Courthouse Paintings In Paw Paw Are 'Jarring'

PAW PAW, Mich. (AP) — Michigan's chief justice says it's "jarring" to see violent paintings in a southwestern Michigan courthouse. But Bridget McCormack says it's not her job to tell local leaders how to manage the building.

McCormack was in the Van Buren County courthouse last week participating in an effort to observe and assist judges. One mural in a stairwell shows a bare-breasted woman holding a decapitated head and a spear. Another painting above a judge's bench shows a nude man and nude woman begging for mercy.